Jean Arp

Acquired by the family of the present owner in the 1960s

Carola Giedion-Welcker, Hans Arp, Stuttgart, 1957, no. 101, illustration of the pink limestone cast p. 91
Arp (exhibition catalogue), Musée National d'Art Moderne, Paris, 1962, no. 113, illustration of the bronze cast pl. 17
Hans Arp (exhibition catalogue), Kunsthalle Basel, Basel, 1962, no. 26, illustration of the bronze cast n.p. 
Ionel Jianou, Jean Arp, Paris, 1973, no. 101 (titled Humaine Lunaire Spectrale)  
Stefanie Poley, Hans Arp: Die Formensprache im plastischen Werk, Stuttgart, 1978, illustration of the smaller cast stone version p. 61
Jean Arp. L'invention de la forme (exhibition catalogue), Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, 2004, illustration of the bronze cast p. 132

Cast stone. There is some overall surface dirt and some areas of minor discolouration. There is a thin line of more pronounced discolouration, a very thin hairline crack at the top of the work and very few minor scattered nicks and scratches. The base has some repaired cracks with associated discolouration. The base is not original to the work and can be removed. This work is in very good condition.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Alfred Barr once described Jean Arp as a 'one-man laboratory for the discovery of new form' (quoted in James Thrall Soby, Arp (exhibition catalogue), The Museum of Modern Art, New York, 1958, p. 7). The present work is indeed an extraordinary example of the artist's ability to take inspiration from natural forms around him, whilst always managing to transcend the realm of the tangible. As the title suggests, this wonderfully organic and sensual sculpture could perhaps be regarded either as a celebration of some normally hidden and unappreciated human form, or else as a sample of some mysterious lunar landscape. The artist is inviting the viewer to join him in looking and marvelling with fresh eyes at the natural forms that surround us: forms that when presented in an unfamiliar context or scale, look more like forms from the landscape of our subconscious. The viewer cannot help but be seduced by its undulating forms, either moving with those undulations or simply taking refuge in the depths of their shadowy crevices.

The medium of the present work only seems to add to its intrinsic organic quality: indeed James Thrall Soby once commented upon a marked 'intimacy between artist and material' present in many of Arp's stone sculptures, whether cast or carved, 'which metal sometimes obscures' (ibid., pp. 10-11).